How Anti-Bullying Ambassadors Can Stand Up to Bullying (Guest Post)

In 2019 The Diana Award is offering Anti-Bullying Ambassadors training completely free of charge to schools. Find out all about it including how to sign up in this guest post.

Bullying doesn’t just have an impact within the confines of the school gates. It can take place on social media, on the school bus, on online games, in youth clubs – and its impact can stretch long into adulthood.

A survey of 2,000 British adults conducted by The Diana Award in 2018 found that:

55% said they have experienced bullying while at school.

69% who have experienced bullying at school said their confidence has been affected as a result of this experience.

81% agreed with the statement “bullying is commonplace online”.

The fact that bullying still has a significant impact on confidence in adulthood goes to show what a devastating experience it can be for young people. Bullying can make young people feel upset, uncomfortable, and unsafe. It is an experience that is far too common: it’s estimated that at any one time, there are 16,000 young people absent from school because of bullying.

At The Diana Award we are passionate about empowering young people to tackle this as Anti-Bullying Ambassadors.

We know that young people are the best agents for change in their schools and communities. Through our peer-led Anti-Bullying Ambassadors Programme, The Diana Award equips young people, staff and parents with the knowledge, confidence and skills to effectively tackle bullying in their schools and communities online and offline.

The best part? In 2019 the Anti-Bullying Ambassadors training is being offered completely free of charge to schools.

To date the programme has trained over 31,000 young people from over 3000 schools in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland to be Anti-Bullying Ambassadors and help ensure that the 11,000 hours young people spend at school are happy, safe and bully-free.

Anti-Bullying Ambassadors educate their peers on bullying, promote a culture which celebrates difference, take the lead on anti-bullying and online safety campaigns, and help keep their peers safe – both online and offline. Our training sets them up to be successful in these areas and will also:

Help to boost attendance and attainment by creating a happy and safe learning environment

Complement teaching and learning across the curriculum, including PSHE, Citizenship, and ICT

Develop resilience, confidence, and positive healthy relationships between young people

Provide CPD certified training for school staff

Contribute to positive inspection reports; our programme has been referenced in hundreds of inspection reports as good practice

One of the many inspirational examples of young people making a difference as Anti-Bullying Ambassadors is Hereward College in Coventry. Hereward is a college for young people with disabilities and additional needs. The Diana Award trained a group of students as Anti-Bullying Ambassadors who then decided to focus their work around celebrating diversity and encouraging students to be proud of who they are. They have worked hard to make sure that their anti-bullying work is inclusive for all students, and the Anti-Bullying Ambassadors have created a number of different versions of their Anti-Bullying Policy so it’s accessible for all. To see a video of their work in action, check out this video.

We would love to work with your school this year. To register your interest in attending or hosting an Anti-Bullying Ambassador training event, register your interest here. Further information about the training is available here.

Are you looking for a school job?

If you would be interested in a teaching or support position at a school or alternative provision, why not get in touch or register with Axcis today and find out how we can assist you? Alternatively, if you are seeking staff for your school or provision, or would like to refer a friend to us, pop us and email – we’d be happy to help!